In dramatic fashion the Longhorns captured the LSA Championship in Georgetown this weekend after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First, in the semi-final game on Saturday, Texas matched against the Texas State Bobcats. The Horns came out quick and established an early lead. At the end of the first quarter, the score read 4-1. With only a three goal advantage over the talented Bobcat squad, the Horns aimed to extend the lead out of their opponent’s reach. Texas players hustled to pick up ground balls and move into the offensive zone. With excellent dodges and ball movement, the Texas offense put in a total of 13 goals against the Bobcats by the end of the game. A last minute push by the Bobcats came up short as Texas moved to the LSA Championship with a 13-7 win over Texas State.

The true excitement came the next day as Texas faced off against Texas Tech for the second time this year. In an earlier meeting, a last quarter disaster allowed Texas to blow a three goal lead and lose 14-7. This time, with much higher stakes, the Longhorns came out focused and determined to be victorious. Several lost face-offs and missed ground balls caused the ball to swing to Tech’s offense for the majority of the first half. Quickly, the Red Raiders moved ahead by three before Texas could put one in the net. The second quarter began with the Horns trailing 5-2. Still, the Texas defense was unable to stop Tech as they possessed the ball and scored five more goals. With the score at 10-4 with 58 seconds remaining in the first half, Senior Eric Zissman found the back of the net. With Zissman’s aid, the Horns moved into halftime with some momentum. In the third quarter, the Longhorns began to play more aggressively and started winning ground balls. The senior goalie, Garrett Cox, rallied the team around his amazing saves and clears. With more possessions, Texas was finally able to work in settled offense and get some good shots at cage. Stepping into the fourth quarter, Texas had decreased the deficit to 10-7. In the final quarter of play, Garret Cox continued to eat up every shot, and the offense took advantage of a down Texas Tech defense. At a score off 10-8, Evans Swann continued the momentum with a beautiful goal on the crease following a saved shot that fell down in front of the goal. With 7 minutes left, Eric Zissman put in the tying goal. To obtain the first lead of the game, Stephen Brandewie score the 11th goal for Texas with just 3 minutes to go. The 12th goal followed only seconds later to seal the win. After possessing the ball for the final minutes, Texas won the LSA Championship 12-10 over Texas Tech.

After accomplishing one of the season’s main goals, the Longhorn squad has found itself on its way to Dallas to compete in the 2006 USLIA National Tournament. The Longhorns will prepare this week to represent the LSA well and to make their run for the National Championship. Texas enters as a #16 seed and will face its first opponent, #1 Colorado State, on Tuesday May 9th.

Click Here for photos from the weekend, courtesy of Southwestern University

by William Kenneth Forrest